Ram Mohan Roy and the BRAHMO SAMAJ

Ram Mohan Roy was the most important socio-religious reform pioneer in Bengal. He was the most notable reformer of the modern times. He was among the first to bring political questions in the ambit of public debate. His Atmiya Sabha, founded in 1814, discussed important social and political questions of the time.

In 1828, the enlarged edition of this Atmiya Sabha was founded and was called Brahmo Sabha and later Brahmo Samaj. Soon he started touching upon many burning social issues of the time including the widely prevalent practice of becoming Sati.

Rama Mohan Roy rallied supports to the efforts of Governor General William Bentinck for the abolition of Sati and wrote extensively for the cause. In 1829, the custom of Sati was formally abolished.

He also condemned polygamy and many other forms of subjugation of women. Roy was also an advocate of modern education. He opened an English School as well as a Vedanta College in 1825.

He was a firm believer in the concept of One God. He was opposed to idolatry and found Upanishads as the basis of true Hinduism. He wished to purify Hinduism by removing all kinds of evils that had crept into it over centuries. He was never opposed to English education and the spread of the western knowledge.

After Ram Mohan Roy’s death in 1833, the Brahmo Samaj started getting disorganized but was eventually saved from disintegration by Debendranath Tagore who joined it in 1842 and gave it a definite shape and popularize it beyond the city of Calcutta. A year later, he wrote Brahmo Covenant. This Covenant was a statement of the creed of the Samaj and made a list of the duties and obligations of the members.

Another prominent leader of Brahmo Samaj was Keshab Chandra Sen  who joined the Samaj in 1858. He was a very eloquent and persuasive leader. He took the activities of Samaj beyond Bengal and into UP, Punjab, Madras and Bombay. 

He radicalized the Samaj by attacking caste system, underlining women’s rights, promoting widow remarriage and raising the issue of caste status of Brahmo preachers which was earlier reserved for Brahmins. He laid stress on universalism in religion. His radicalism brought him into opposition with Debendranath. This led to the division of the Samaj in 1866 into two – Adi Brahmo Samaj headed by Debendranath and the Brahmo Samaj of India headed by Keshab Chandra.